


Separation Anxiety

by Megalodont



Category: Suite Life, Suite Life on Deck
Genre: Boys In Love, Brotherly Love, Dorks in Love, Gay For You, Idiots in Love, Inspired by Music, Jealousy, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, Protective Siblings, Reconciliation, Separation Anxiety, Sibling Love, Twincest, You Have Been Warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 12:50:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9235973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megalodont/pseuds/Megalodont
Summary: "I just feel like she's taking you away from me." He said, swallowing. He heard Cody sigh, a cold shiver ran down his spine when his twin put a hand on his shoulder."Zack, this resentment you feel is normal, it's just your separation anxiety manifesting itself in anger towards Bailey. It'll pass in a little while, and then everything will be back to normal again.  " Cody explained, in far too many words for Zack, but he sorely wished that the nerd was right once again.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't originally supposed to be a slash fic, but...  
> Inspired by Daughtry's 'Life After You'  
> Takes place after the Suite Life Movie, and they're back at the Tipton Hotel in Boston. In this, Esteban is the manager and Maddie is the assistant manager, while London is...Shopping, I guess?  
> I may write a second part to this, depending on if anyone wants one.

> _**Everytime we say goodbye, I die a little inside** _

 

Loneliness was a banal emotion and Cody disdained it.

Still, the miles between him and his twin were wearing on him and separation anxiety was rearing her ugly head. The passenger beside him had fallen asleep an hour ago and the in-flight movie was the Lindsay Lohan version of  _The Parent Trap._ The first time in his life, Cody was facing the world alone. His confident, street savvy twin was left behind in Boston, mostly likely angry and hurt, because Cody was an  _idiot._ Of course, if Zack had opened his mouth  _years ago_ , this might not have happened. And, he admitted, if he had been a little more attentive, Zack may not have needed to say a thing. So, yes. Cody Martin was an utter idiot on the most platitudinous level. 

_**T HREE HOURS EARLIER** _

* * *

Zack was going the relish the time he had left with his brother. It was awfully selfish, he was well aware, but Cody was  _his_ brother and Bailey Pickett was not the twin being left behind for god knows how many years. For awhile, Zack had liked his twin's girlfriend, even before she was with Cody but things had started changing and dammit, Zack didn't like it. Cody spent more time with Bailey than him and it didn't feel  _right._ He wasn't jealous.  _Zack Martin_ did not get jealous. It was perfectly rational to hate your brother's girlfriend, right? Zack told himself it was. He hated her. Perfect Bailey with her perfect hair and perfect eyes and perfect brains, Zack did not just hate her, he  _loathed_ the Kansan girl with his entire being. When had Zack become so possessive over his twin? Cody was not his property, or his boyfriend for that matter, but some part of Zack felt he was. That Cody was Zack's to protect and he did not need some Science-Spewiing Southern Girl slowly prying his grip on Cody loose one finger at a time. 

And a grip was exactly what Zack needed to get. The drive back to Boston after Zack and Cody's graduation had been eventful for more reasons then one. Besides the stale litany of Carey Martin's Greatest  _Hit,_ their mother and father had come to a conclusion that their boys had been waiting literal  _years_ for. They were going to give it another shot, another try, they were going to living together again. Carey had realized that Kurt had matured a lot as the boys had grown and they still loved each other very much. The best way to do this, they decided, was for Carey to go on tour with his band. Which meant that in the interim of Carey's absence, Zack and Cody had the suite all to themselves. 

"You boys behave while we're gone. Esteban has all the emergency numbers and Maddie will be coming to check on you every so often. " Carey said, helping Kurt load her luggage into the tour bus. 

"Mom, we don't need a babysitter anymore, we're almost eighteen." Zack whined.

"She's not going to be babysitting you. She's just going to check for bodies." Carey assured them,before kissing them both. 

"Love you, mom." Cody smiled, hugging her. "You too, dad." Carey smiled, before standing on the steps of the bus. 

"We'll see you in a couple months. We'll meet you at the airport in Connecticut, Cody." She reminded him, before stepping on the bus and shutting the door. Zack immediately exhaled and walked back through the revolving door into the lobby. 

"Maddy"

"What?" The blonde asked.

"Celebritory pizzas."

"On it." She said, picking up the phone to call their favourite pizza parlor. 

Back in their suite, Zack was snooping through the fridge for a drink and Cody was on the couch flipping through the tv channels.

"Please don't put on anything educational, Codes. It's Summer and it's Sunday." Zack said, popping the tab on a can of pop. "You want anything to drink?"

"Just a water will be fine."Cody replied, ignoring the first request. As a narrator on the Discovery Channel announced something about Antelopes outrunning a Cheetah. 

"Cody, what did I say about educational...." Zack paused, sighed and sat down, knowing better than to argue with Cody. His twin glanced up him, before taking the bottle of water. 

"You might learn something." Cody replied.

"Oh, the horror." Zack said dully, taking a sip of his pop. The door opened and Maddy strode in with their pizzas.

"Bon appetite." She said, setting them on the table. "Enjoy, I have to go back and deal with an Esteban Emergency."

"What happened?" Zack asked.

"Dudley got loose. He's in the ballroom and if I don't get there soon, it'll be a Ballroom Blitz."Maddy said, before walking out the door. Zack opened the first box of pizza and handed Cody a slice.

"Are you bored already?" Zack asked, leaning back on the couch.

"Yup."  Cody said, popping the 'p' and sighing. He glanced over at his brother and swallowed. "Zack?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you...Are you alright?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowing together in concern. "I mean, are you...Is something wrong?" He continued. If Zack had expected Cody not to notice his gloominess and general lack of any energy for fun, Zack was thinking of a Cody who was  _not_ his twin. 

"Why would anything be wrong?" Zack replied.

"You just seem so...So maladjusted to the idea of me going to Yale. Is there a problem? I mean, if it's just separation anxiety, we'll work through it. I can skype you every night after class if you'd like and I'll try to come home every weekend-"

"I'm fine, Cody, really. I wouldn't want to take anytime away from you and  _Bailey._ " He hadn't meant for that to come out the way it had, because Cody was offended now.

"Oh, I see. Look, I thought we talked about this. You promised me whatever feelings you had for Bailey were gone and that you were OK with me dating her"

"Well, I'm not!" Zack shouldn't have said that.

"What is it with you? You can't stand losing a girl to me? Or do you just want to me to be miserable and unhappy for the rest of my life? Do you have to like every girl I like?" That was a lie, he had  _not_ liked every girl Cody liked.

"I don't like Bailey, that's the problem!" Zack yelled. His twin stopped for a minute, clearly trying to process what his twin had just said and what he had meant by it.

"What's wrong with Bailey?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Zack said, standing and walking over to their room. It had been quite unnerving to be sleeping in it again after not seeing it for two years, and the fact that he still felt the same way for it's other occupant as when he left made the tension even worse.

"Zack, we have to talk about this."

"No we don't"

"If you're not happy, I'm not happy remember?" Cody said, approaching him. "Why don't you like Bailey?" Zack huffed, before staring at his feet.

"I just feel like she's taking you away from me." He said, swallowing. He heard Cody sigh, a cold shiver ran down his spine when his twin put a hand on his shoulder.

"Zack, this resentment you feel is normal, it's just your separation anxiety manifesting itself in anger towards Bailey. It'll pass in a little while, and then everything will be back to normal again.  " Cody explained, in far too many words for Zack, but he sorely wished that the nerd was right once again. 

"This is not normal." Zack said, moving away from his twin. He wished it was, he wished everything would be the way it should be, but it isn't and he isn't sure who he hates more, Bailey Pickett or himself. Some part of him thinks that he should hate Cody too, but he can't, he could never ever hate Cody for anything. It isn't fair, simply isn't fair and he can't fight the urge to break something, so he takes a shot at the lamp and it smashes on the floor. 

"Zack, calm down. It's alright for you to not like her for awhile"

"I don't dislike her, Cody, I hate her, I  _loathe_ her existence! I hated her when you first met, I hated her when you fell in love with her and I hate her now more than ever that you're going to Yale with  _Stupid Bailey_ and leaving me here without you!" Zack shouted, panting at the exertion. Cody blinked and Zack couldn't tell if his twin felt betrayed or confused. Cody exhaled, before pondering his next words.

"How long?" He asked quietly.

"You?"

"Me." He nodded, avoiding his twin's eyes. Zack scratched the back of his neck.

"Since we were twelve." Cody's face darkened at his words, and he sat on the table, head in his hands.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked a few brief moments of silence, still refusing to meet Zack's eyes.

"There was never a good time." Zack said, chewing his lip.

"Oh, yeah we only hung out _every day_ and night." Cody scathed.

"Well things got in the way like... Jewish Girls and Southern Girls and English twins and, and, Jewish girls."

"Hey, there was only  _one_ Jewish girl." Cody argued, standing up to face Zack. 

"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it, because it's not like you feel the same way, so."

"What are you going to do, just put away feelings?" Cody yelled.

"I've been doing it since the seventh grade, I've gotten pretty good at it!"Zack snapped, before stomping off to their room and slamming the door. 

* * *

**_P_ ** **_RESENT TIME_ **

Yes, Cody admitted, arguing about it was pretty immature, but he had a girlfriend and he was going to get a scholarship, he couldn't deal with that. He felt horrible for leaving things that way, though and if Zack answered his skype call later that night, they'd talk about it then. He stared up at the movie again, watching the Lindsay Lohan clone hug herself in the rain, while an appropriately cheesy sad song was playing. Cody swallowed, oh he hated this movie right now. He flipped through an airline magazine for a bit, but it was quite boring. Cody sighed and was relieved to hear they would be landing soon. 

Once they were on the ground, he checked his phone, Bailey would meet him after he went through customs. It was a long line up for customs and Cody was getting a little impatient. He hadn't seen Bailey in a little bit and he thought he would be more anxious to see her than he was. He loved Bailey-was in love with Bailey- and wanted to be here with her.

Right?

He convinced himself that this momentary doubt was just his own separation anxiety manifesting itself and he would be fine once he got to Yale. He exhaled and slumped over his suitcase. This line was taking forever and he was hungry. Maybe he and Bailey could get something to eat once on campus. 

Once he was finally through, he made his way towards the door, the sight of Bailey suddenly halting him. She was smiling at him and while he loved her, he was realizing that he was not  _in love_ with her. This was the cheesy part where he realized he'd been in love with Zack all along and returned to Boston and...Yeah, he knew how this went. He texted Bailey a quick  _I'm Sorry_ and raced over to the lady selling tickets.

"One for Boston, please."

_**B ACK IN BOSTON** _

* * *

Cody rushed through the revolving door of the Tipton Hotel, causing Esteban to shout

"Cody!" But the blonde's only response was

"Not the time, Esteban." The elevator was not moving anywhere near fast enough for Cody. He was practically vibrating, trying to piece his words together in his head. He'd apologize and explain that he was just being a jerk before, that he really loved Zack and he didn't want to...What had he said, 'Put Away Feelings Anymore', because it was egregiously unfair to the both of them. He exhaled, his palms were sweaty and he could feel a lump forming in his throat. What if Zack was still mad? What if he didn't want Cody to stay anymore? It was agonizing, but his resolve firmed, Cody opened the door. 

"Zack!" The bedroom door opened slowly,a slightly a haggard looking Zack peering through the gap.

"Cody? But I thought you were in Connecticut?" He asked, stepping out of the room. 

"I couldn't do it." Cody replied, shutting the door and dropping his bags. Zack crossed the room quickly.

"Why...Why not?"

"Separation Anxiety." The younger twin replied, before pulling Zack close to him and kissing him passionately.

 

 

 

 


End file.
